


Honor

by NameKeptSecret



Category: Naruto
Genre: Advice, Grief/Mourning, Kakashi gives good advice
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-02
Updated: 2019-07-27
Packaged: 2020-04-06 11:03:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,659
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19061344
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NameKeptSecret/pseuds/NameKeptSecret
Summary: There's more to being a sensei than teaching his students how to fight, Kakashi is learning.Ch. 1 Naruto is grieving for Jiraiya and isn't sure what everyone means when they tell him to honor his mentor.Ch. 2 Sakura begins training with Tsunade and Kakashi thinks too much.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first work in the Naruto fandom. depending on whether or not people actually like it, I might continue writing for Naruto.

As Kakashi approached the Memorial Stone, he was surprised to find he wasn’t alone. Naruto sat in front of the monument, arms and head resting on his raised knees. Whereas the boy normally exuded warmth and brightness, there now seemed to be a dark shadow haunting him.

            “Jiraiya.” Kakashi said after a moment. His student merely nodded at first _Losing Master Jiraiya was harder on him than any of us could have imagined._

            “Everybody keeps telling me to honor his memory.” The boy said eventually, still not looking at Kakashi, instead staring at the Memorial. Rather than give any true response, the older man simply nodded and hummed neutrally. He knew better than most that such a thing was easier said than done.

            “I’m not even sure what that means.” Naruto admitted.

            “Ah, well, honoring those we’ve lost can mean many things.” Upon receiving nothing more than an expectant look, Kakashi knew he’d have to explain.

            “Some, like Sasuke choose the path of revenge, for example.”

            “No,” Naruto shook his head vehemently, “that’s not the way I do things.”

            “True enough.” Kakashi agreed easily, relieved.

            “Besides, Pervy-Sage wouldn’t like that anyway.”

            “That is the question, now isn’t it. What would he want?” Kakashi explained.

            “I dunno.” Naruto sounded so lost and unsure. Wholly unlike himself.

            “If not revenge, then other’s grieve for their lost, hoping their sorrow will honor their loved ones.” How many hours had he himself spent grieving here? Punishing himself for his failures. _But not this one. I won’t allow Naruto to take the same path._ “However, I doubt Jiraiya would want you to wallow in your sadness.”

            “Guess not. I think…I think he’d want me to be happy.”

            “Hmm.” _Now you’re on the right track._ “Maybe don’t think so hard about it. Be happy, stay on the path to becoming Hokage, finish what Master Jiraiya started.”

            Naruto considered this for a moment before remembering the final novel that Jiraiya never finished. As he opened his mouth to protest against completing his mentor’s erotic novel, Kakashi spoke.

            “And no, I’m not telling you to finish any of his incomplete novels. What I meant is that you should do the things that would make Jiraiya proud. Continue training, protect the village and its people, fight to achieve the peace that Master Jiraiya dreamed of.”

            Naruto brightened visibly at hearing this. “Yeah! I’m gonna become Hokage and then we’ll find a way to have peace. All of us, together!”

            “Then that’s how you will honor Master Jiraiya’s memory, Naruto.” Kakashi told the boy.

            “I guess there’s no point in sitting in front of this stone, huh?” He asked.

            “Well, you probably shouldn’t spend too much time here, but it’s alright to visit.” They walked away, remaining silent for several minutes before Naruto asked the question nagging at his mind.

            “Say, Kakashi-sensei, you’ve lost precious people before, right?”

            “Yes, I have.” The older man said quietly.

            “How do you honor them?” Naruto asked.

Kakashi was honestly unsure what to say. How had he honored Obito? Rin? Minato-sensei and Kushina? His father even? It seemed like all he’d done was let them down. He sat at the Memorial Stone for hours, he adopted several of Obito’s habits, he tried to instill in his students the value of teamwork…

Teamwork

His team

His comrades

The village

_“"In the ninja world, those who break the rules are scum… but those who abandon their friends are worse than scum."_

“I protect the people who are important to me.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All chapters are cannonical to each other and take place in the same universe so to speak, but are out of order. For example, chapter two occurs before chapter one. You'll notice a few things about my writing that some of you may not like such as: I avoid using Japanese terms whenever possible, I don't include honorifics, and the character's speech patterns are based mostly off of the dubbed anime since I haven't read the manga in a while, and don't watch subtitles. If these bother you, then I'm probably not the writer for you.

“You wished to see me, Lady Fifth?” Kakashi announced as he entered the Hokage’s office.

            “Yes, and would you learn to use the damn door?” Tsunade grumbled

            “Ah, it’s a habit from my ANBU days, I’m afraid.” He shrugged casually.

            The Hokage scoffed, “Nonsense. You learned it from the Fourth. That man made it his mission to never enter buildings properly.”

            Kakashi had stiffened briefly at the mention of his sensei. Lady Tsunade held none of the reservations the Third had about bringing up the past. “Minato-sensei was a brilliant man.” He eventually replied.

            “And every bit the cheeky brat that you are today.” She scolded lightly, and if the look in her eyes held obvious affection, well both knew not to mention it.

            “What was it you needed me for, Lady Hokage?” Kakashi asked after a moment.

            “To inform you that I’m taking Sakura Haruno on as my apprentice.”

            “Oh. Well, that’s good news. Sakura will make an excellent medic. I’m certain she’ll thrive under your care.” Kakashi replied stiffly, because though his words were true, Sakura was his only student still in the village.

            “You have no objections?” Lady Tsunade asked.

            “Would it matter?” He countered

            “Normally, a ninja seeking an apprentice must get the student’s jounin sensei’s approval. As the Hokage, I can take on whoever I want as a student, regardless of what their current sensei says. As a fellow ninja of the Village Hidden in the Leaves, I wanted your thoughts on the matter, Kakashi.” Tsunade knew what she would be taking away from Kakashi by taking Sakura as a student.

            “What I said before still stands. Sakura is suited to medical ninjutsu. You can teach her far more than I have. I would only be holding her back if I objected.”

            “Don’t sell yourself short, Hatake. Sakura has made it this far for a reason.” The Hokage advised.

            “Yes, well it wasn’t anything I did.”

 

* * *

 

 

            Kakashi later thought back on the discussion with the Hokage curiously. Had he _truly_ been a proper teacher to Sakura, or any of his students? Certainly he hadn’t taught them much in the way of battle, with the exception of Sasuke, for all the good that did. If anything, teaching him the chidori had been a mistake. The boy was too immature, too self-centered and power-hungry for such a strong technique.

Naruto was well…the boy wasn’t stupid, not really. He was rash and chose to act on instinct rather than intellect, but it seemed to work for him. Kakashi liked to think he’d taught the boy to use his head at least somewhat. He had seen Naruto mature greatly from the day they’d formed Team 7 until the day he left with Jiraiya.

Sakura however…he had looked at her and saw Rin. Kind, selfless, and every bit the fangirl his former teammate had once been. Soft, he had thought. So, instead of turning her into the ninja she had the potential to be, Kakashi sheltered her. Held her back, pushed her behind him every chance he got. He had been so focused on getting Sakura out of each battle alive that he forgot to teach her to survive on her own. He had been so wrapped up in his own thoughts, Kakashi failed to notice he’d been standing in front of his door, or that someone was approaching.

“Kakashi-sensei!” Sakura’s voice startled him out of his wonderings.

“Sakura.” He greeted her simply, mind and heart to heavy to don his usual façade of indifferent lightheartedness.

“I have something I’d like to tell you.” Sakura began.

            “Oh? What is it?” _In all likelihood it’s about her apprenticeship, but I see no reason to spoil her fun._

            “Lady Tsunade is taking me on as a student.” She tried to appear calm, but the girl was nearly vibrating with excitement.

            “Ah, wonderful news. Congratulations.” Kakashi told her with faux enthusiasm. He was happy for her, really, but knowing that she needed a new teacher at all only pointed out his own failings.

            Sakura’s eyes narrowed accusingly. “You already knew, didn’t you?”

            “Well, yes. Our esteemed Hokage informed me herself.” He replied, scratching the back of his neck awkwardly.

            “I had hoped to tell you myself.” She seemed to deflate at learning she wasn’t the first to tell him. “You aren’t upset, are you? That Lady Tsunade will be teaching me?”

            “Of course not, Sakura. You’ll learn far better under her tutelage than you ever could mine.”

            She frowned up at him. “Why would you say such a thing?”

            “I made many mistakes in my time as Team Seven’s sensei, Sakura. I’m afraid I didn’t teach you nearly as much, or as well, as I should have.” Kakashi used what his students called his “serious Kakashi-sensei” voice. The one he’d used during the bell test, the fight with Zabuza, and when confronting the boys on the roof.

            She regarded him steadily and seriously for a moment, painting an image far more mature than the little girl he was used to. “Kakashi-sensei, no one’s perfect. We all make mistakes. It’s true that I’m weak, I know that. But it isn’t because you failed. I wasn’t ready. When I graduated from the Academy, I had an image of what a ninja was supposed to be that wasn’t true. I thought that my test scores were what mattered, that I needed to be smart and obedient, and that everything else would fall into place. I was perfectly fine letting you, Naruto, and Sasuke protect me. If you had tried to teach me how to truly be a ninja, I wouldn’t have listened. Instead, you kept me alive long enough to learn for myself. You taught me how to be a better teammate, how to find my own ninja way. Now I can become stronger in my own way, so you won’t have to protect me anymore.”

            Kakashi didn’t reply. He couldn’t. Instead, he nodded, swallowed thickly, and placed a hand on her head before turning to walk inside. While it was hard for him to believe Sakura’s words, he so desperately wanted to. He wanted to have done something right for once.

           

 

* * *

 

            “Sakura. What would you say is the most valuable lesson you learned while Kakashi was your sensei?” Lady Tsunade asked her sometime later.

            “Honor, mi’lady.”

            “Honor?”

            “Yes. Honor as a Leaf ninja, honor as a member of a team, and honor as a student.”

            “Very well.”


End file.
